On the edge of the Laurentian Autoroute, a dense wasteland, much appreciated by Laval residents, remains, offering a unique retreat in an environment of constant urbanization. The aquatic complex project proposed by our team is based on the natural characteristics of this woodland and in full recognition of its human and environmental value. More precisely, the project places at the heart of its conception the conservation of the existing forest and the addition of vegetated spaces where visual and physical permeability give rise to spaces impregnated with nature.
Divided between nature and city, an invented landscape is formed in contact with the landscape and urban elements that define the site. Emerging from the forest, a series of embankments weave the contours of a new topography where water accumulates to form different basins. Floating above them, a diaphanous envelope marks the symbolic border of an interior space. Two geometries, therefore, translate the expression of distinct and complementary natural phenomena. The first, sculpted from various angles, brings us back to the construction of a solid and mineral topography; the second, composed of sinuous curves, evokes the cyclical and changing nature of water and transcends scales in a subtle play of cellular and cosmic representations.
Through this architecture, two important elements structure the user's experience. First, the recreational pool, located on the Terry Fox Avenue side, serves as a pivot between the public space of the entrance and the Olympic pools. The design of this pool, inspired by the movement of water and in water, proposes a space where gravity and weightlessness merge. Open and bright, this family-oriented space offers a stimulating environment for the development of a universal and renewable playful imagination. From the exterior forecourt continuing into the lobby, the user is called upon to gravitate around the recreational pool to reach the different spaces. On the first floor, a generous public circulation in symmetry with the exterior forecourt allows access to the changing rooms and then to the Olympic pools. A curvilinear staircase, suspended between the pools, gives access to the public spaces located on the second floor: bleachers, dining area, multipurpose room, terrace, etc. Due to its position and unique architecture, the recreational pool facilitates the user's orientation within the project.
In a second phase, the diving tower located at the second focus of the ellipse anchors the building on the Laurentian Highway side while revealing its function as an aquatic complex. The project recognizes the determining and structuring presence of Highway 15 and responds to it with a strong gesture, on the scale of the context. The oval shape, perceptible from this artery, acts as a signalling element for the many motorists driving along it. In this sense, the project offers a distinctive image in the Laval urban landscape, marked by numerous institutions with varied identities.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
The jury notes the quality of the volumetry, the wooden structure of the large pool hall and its visual effect, but questions its scope in terms of effort. It notes that the development of the embankments is a nice gesture that creates interesting spaces but it encroaches on the wooded area and the wetland; this section is unfortunately not accessible to the general public.The entrance offers an architectural experience and an interesting view of the recreational pool but requires a detour in the circulation that takes away from the locker rooms and makes the route confusing, without interest on the side of the Cosmodome. This concept is more focused on the experience of "Seeing" but not participating. On the aquatic level, the jury is concerned about the effect of the undulating ceiling on the spatial perception of the divers and questions the effectiveness of the sunlight control of the west-facing glass wall in the diving area. In terms of renewable energy, LEED credits are not really integrated into the overall design of the project. Environmentally, the embankments threaten the woodland ecosystem, even though the excavated soil is used, a good strategy in itself. The text is not very explanatory of the proposed actions.
The jury greatly appreciates the formal choice of the floating opalescent oblong volume on a simple opaque orthogonal base. The volumetric and architectural treatment, seen from the highway, is very interesting and mysterious. But the floating object is not a global response to the program. In this concept, there are several strong elements that jostle each other, the embankments, the oblong shape, the recreational pool, the lobby and its ramp, and the undulation of the roof complexifying the structure. The efforts do not seem to lead to conceptual or structural simplicity and overload the concept.
The jury was not convinced of the relevance of this concept to the City's objectives and the answers to the questions did not seem conclusive on the issues of operation, access, circulation, universal accessibility, acoustics and sunlight. The creation of the embankments is more of a formal gesture than a response to a need; why renaturalize what was, why this effort when these spaces are reserved for clubs, for a minority. The concept does not show a sensitivity to the family, nor to the cohabitation with the Cosmodome. The structural choice with 3 meter beams represents a questionable energy expenditure.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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